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Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy-comedy film produced by PDI/DreamWorks, released by DreamWorks Pictures, directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. It is loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!, and somewhat serves as a parody film, targeting other films adapted from various children’s fantasies (mainly animated Disney films). The film made notable use of popular music; the soundtrack includes music by Smash Mouth, Eels, Joan Jett, The Proclaimers, Jason Wade, Baha Men, and John Cale (covering Leonard Cohen). Plot When a green ogre called Shrek discovers his swamp has been 'swamped' with all sorts of fairytale creatures by the scheming Lord Farquaad, Shrek sets out, with a very loud donkey by his side, to 'persuade' Farquaad to give his swamp back. Instead, a deal is made. Farquaad, who wants to become the King, sends Shrek to rescue Princess Fiona, who is waiting for her one true love. But once they head back with Fiona, it starts to become apparent that not only does Shrek like Fiona, but Fiona is keeping something secret. Trivia Chris Farley was originally cast as Shrek and even recorded part of the dialogue. However, after his death, the role was given to fellow Saturday Night Live performer, Mike Myers. Shrek's "air quotes" in the film is an homage to Farley, whose character Bennett Brauer also used air quotes. The principal actors never met each other. All read their parts separately, with a reader feeding them the lines. John Lithgow later admitted that, while he enjoyed playing Lord Farquaad, he was a little disappointed that he never actually worked directly with Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, or Eddie Murphy. "Shrek" means "monster" in Yiddish, and is derived from the German word "Schreck", which means "terror" or "fright". This film was the first winner for the inaugural Best Animated Feature Film category of the Academy Awards 2001. While Donkey is a hooved animal, his movements are based on dogs and rabbits. Cameron Diaz, having undergone Kung Fu training during the making of Charlie's Angels, became very physical when recording her kung fu moves for Fiona's fight with Robin Hood and his Merry Men, and at times even broke out into Cantonese. According to director, Andrew Adamson, Shrek's height varies between seven and eight feet depending on who you ask. He was 7 feet and since then he's grown in people's minds, and now he's usually referred to as 8 feet. The song "Welcome to Duloc", which is sung by the wooden dolls in the cabinet at the entrance to Duloc, is not only a parody of Disney's "It's a Small World", but is in the same key and has the same beats per minute (tempo) as the Disney song. The scene where Princess Fiona burps was written after a recording session where Cameron Diaz burped after drinking Coca-Cola. Mike Myers was in New York when they realized that the line "What are you doing in my swamp!" had never been read. So producer Jeffrey Katzenberg flew to New York, and had Mike Meyers read the line in the back of a limo. The line "You're on your way to a smacked bottom." was improvised by Mike Myers after he got annoyed at one of the directors. Robin Williams was going to have a role in the film, but he suffered a bitter falling-out with Jeffrey Katzenberg when Katzenberg was still working at Disney, and refused to work with him. Mike Myers recorded Shrek's voice in a natural accentless voice before the film was test-screened. After watching it, he decided that the voice didn't sound right and had all of his lines re-recorded with a Scottish accent, based on the voice his mother used when reading him bedtime stories as a child. Steven Spielberg was originally going to produce the film in 1991, when he was in charge of the studio Amblin Entertainment. Then, the film would have been in hand-drawn animation, and was going to star Bill Murray as Shrek and Steve Martin as Donkey. Rumors abound that Lord Farquaad was based on former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. Eddie Murphy and Jeffrey Katzenberg have known each another since the beginning of their film careers. They promised that one day, they would do an animated film together, which culminated with Shrek. Katzenberg even recommended Murphy for the part of Donkey, and no-one else. He thinks its his best work. Shrek became DreamWorks' mascot for the company's animated productions. Shrek received his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The film marks Mike Myers' fifth performance with a Scottish accent, following Saturday Night Live, Wayne's World 2, So I Married an Axe Murderer, and as Fat Bastard in the last two Austin Powers movies. Shrek was almost made in stop-motion animation, but early tests proved too costly and executives weren't pleased with the overall look and lack of facial expression in the main character. After live-action miniatures and motion-capture graphics also proved unsatisfactory, the studio went with computer-animation. Box office Shrek opened in more than 3,587 movie theaters on its 2001 release. The film earned $11,573,015 on its first day and $42,347,760 on its opening weekend, topping the box office for the weekend and averaging $11,805 from 3,587 theaters. In its second weekend, due to the Memorial Day Weekend holiday, the film gained 0.3 percent to $42,481,425 and $55,215,620 over the four-day weekend, resulting in an overall 30 percent gain. Despite this, the film finished in second place behind Pearl Harbor and had an average of $15,240 from expanding to 3,623 sites. In its third weekend, the film retreated 34 percent to $28,172,869 for a $7,695 average from expanding to 3,661 theaters. The film closed on December 6, 2001, after grossing $267,665,011 domestically, along with $216,744,207 overseas, for a worldwide total of $484,409,218. Produced on a $60 million budget, the film was a huge box office smash and is the fourth highest-grossing film of 2001 behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and Monsters, Inc. Henry's copy Henry has the 2001 DVD of this movie from DreamWorks Home Entertainment. It has no previews. The special features on it are Shrek's Revoice Studio, behind the scenes, hidden fun facts, character interviews, games and activities, music, and favorite scenes.